


Wolves, Winter and Suburbia

by Walker_Dundee



Series: A Warrior, a Songbird and The Undead [3]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alexandria Safe-Zone, Angst, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Older Man/Younger Woman, Smut, Winter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2019-10-25 00:27:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17714588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walker_Dundee/pseuds/Walker_Dundee
Summary: Beth, Max and the group have found a new home at Alexandria and everyone is eager for a new start. All is well at first, but people at Alexandria hide dark secrets. Dangerous alliances are formed and relationships and friendships will be tested. Winter is coming and the Wolves are scratching at the door..





	1. Chapter 1

Beth Greene felt like she had stepped back in time as she waited to be interviewed by Deanna. The entire day had been a little surreal and somewhat intense, from Aaron’s appearance back at the barn, his subsequent promise of a safe place and then traveling to it, finding an untouched walled utopia in a world of death and danger.  
Beth hadn’t believed Aaron at first, it had sounded almost too good to be true and most of the group was hesitant to believe him as well. Max believed Aaron though, and because Beth trusted his judgement, she was willing to give Aaron a chance. It was only when they had found the Aaron’s partner and their vehicles did Beth fully believe Aaron’ was telling the truth.  
Rick had almost derailed everything over his mistrust, but had been convinced in the end. Beth knew he was only trying to keep everyone safe but she had also been angered that he didn’t trust anyone’s else’s opinion on the matter, especially Max’s.  
Despite Rick’s distrust, they had made it to Aaron’s community with little trouble and found everything he had promised was true, finding a community protected by thick, high walls. Now Beth and others were waiting anxiously to be interview by the leader of the community.  
Beth nervously played with her charm bracelet and wondered what Deanna was asking Max. Rick had gone first, but when he had finished, he took Michonne, Glenn and Daryl aside, ignoring the rest of the group.  
Beth caught Maggie looking at her and Maggie reached out and took Beth’s hand, squeezing it gently.  
She gave Maggie a smile and was still grateful the two had made up after their fight the night before.  
“What do you think they are talking about in there?” Beth asked Maggie, glancing at the Deanna’s study door  
“Don’t know Beth” said Maggie, throwing a look at Rick.  
Suddenly the door opened and Max and Deanna walked back out. Beth gave Max a look and he nodded, giving her a reassuring look in return. Deanna then looked around the room and settled on Beth.  
“How bout you next young lady?" said Deanna.  
Beth nodded and stood up. She flashed a look at Maggie and Max and then walked into Deanna’s study. The study, like the lounge room was warm and inviting, filled with books and paintings.  
“Please take a seat” Deanna said to Beth,  
She indicated to a couch, but Beth hesitated, not wanting to dirty it with her muddy clothes.  
“It's ok, please sit down" said Deanna  
Beth sat down on the couch and gave Deanna a nervous smile.  
“Do you mind if I record this interview?” Deanna asked her as she fiddled with a video camera on a tripod and Beth just nodded. Deanna then sat opposite Beth and gave her another warm smile.  
“Well, alright then, how bout you state your name for the record” suggested Deanna.  
“I’m Beth, Beth Greene” said Beth, not sure if she should be looking at Deanna or the camera.  
“And how old are you Beth?” Deanna asked.  
“I’m eighteen” Beth answered.  
Deanna scribbled something down on the pad she was holding and Beth wondered what she was writing down. Deanna looked up from the pad and gave Beth a more serious look.  
“Can I ask how you got your injuries Beth?” Deanna asked.  
Beth self consciously touched one of her cuts and then averted her gaze.  
“I’m sorry Beth if it’s a painful subject, I just need to know if anyone in your group gave them to you” explained Deanna  
Beth looked back at Deanna quickly, her eyes wide with shock.  
“No, of course not” said Beth.  
“Sorry I had to ask, I have to know who I might be bringing into my community” said Deanna.  
“No one in the group would do anything like this” Beth said defensively.  
“Of course they wouldn’t” said Deanna softly.  
There was a slight awkward pause as Beth realised anyone in the group, excepted for Lizzie, Mika and Judith of course, were indeed very capable of dealing out injuries like hers but Beth didn't think revealing that information would help.  
“So Beth what was your role in the group, did you have a job?” Deanna then asked, changing the subject.  
“Oh, um not really, I looked after Judith a lot and sometimes the other children” said Beth.  
“So you are good with kids?” Deanna asked.  
“I guess” said Beth with a shrug.  
“Hmm, I think you’re just being modest, am I right?” said Deanna.  
Beth blushed and Deanna gave her another smile.  
“Well, Beth, I don’t exactly have a job for you just yet but, I’ll find something for you” said Deanna.  
“Ok” said Beth  
Beth was actually relieved Deanna didn’t have a job for her just yet, still a little overwhelmed by everything.  
“Well then Beth, we are about done here, so I would like to officially welcome to Alexandria” said Deanna.  
Deanna then stood up and walked Beth back out to the others. She couldn’t see Max and for an instant her heart skipped a beat. Maggie saw her worried look and revealed Max had stepped outside.  
Beth found him standing on the steps and gave him a relieved look.  
“So do you think we are going to safe here Max?” she asked him as she looked around.  
Max paused for a second as he looked around as well and then turned back to her.  
“Yeah Beth, I think we just might be” he said and  
Beth smiled brightly, believing him without question. The place did seem safe, it had walls and was strangely peaceful.  
When everyone had been interviewed, Deanna and Aaron then took them all across the street and into a courtyard. A woman with a large cart was waiting and Deanna asked the group to hand over their weapons.  
“They're still your guns, you can check them out whenever you go beyond the wall, but inside, we store them for safety” she explained.  
No one wanted to give up their weapons so easily, but Max was the first to do so and unslung his rifle. He then drew his pistol and placed both of his weapons on the cart. Beth went next and then the whole group relinquished their guns.  
When their weapons had been taken away and secured, Deanna asked Aaron to take the group to where they would be living. As the group walked down one of the streets, Beth noticed people stopping to look, obviously all curious about the new arrivals.  
They were all clean and washed, with spotless fresh clothes. Beth looked down at her filthy, stained clothes and nervously ran her hand through her dirty hair, feeling out of place.  
Aaron led them to three, two story houses all next to each other. The houses were identical in style, like every other house on the street, just different colours.  
“These are yours to use” said Aaron.  
“All three?” asked Rick.  
“At your disposal, I'd call dibs on that one, it's got more curb appeal” said Aaron, pointing to one of the houses.  
Everyone just stared at him, but Beth gave him a small smile, the man was only trying his best to make them feel welcome.  
“Listen, I know you're still feeling us out, but I'm glad you came, Deanna's asked everyone to give you your space so they aren't all coming at you at once and if you need anything, you call me” he said.  
Once again the group just stared at him like he was mad and so did Beth this time.  
“Sorry, bad joke, I don't-- we don't have phones, I meant I'm four houses down” said Aaron.  
“Thanks mate” said Max and Aaron nodded.  
He made to walk off but then stopped in the street, turning back.  
“Oh, I almost forgot, in the basement of each house is a large bank of batteries, you’ll see what I mean, just flip the big red switch and you’ll have power” he said and then continued on his way.  
The group just stood on the street, looking up at the houses. Everyone was hesitant to move, but then Max put his hand on Beth’s back.  
“Come on, gotta check them out some time” he said.  
The group split up to investigated the houses and Beth, Max, Maggie, Glenn and couple of others carefully entered the middle house.  
They began to look around and Beth noticed the house was very clean and tidy, looking like whoever had lived there could return at any time. They walked into the kitchen and Beth looked around at the modern style layout and brand new looking appliances.  
Beth walked over to the sink and turned on the tap. Crystal clear water poured from it and Beth’s face lit up. She ran her hand through the water before turning the tap off and gave Max a bright smile.  
“Guess we won’t have to worry about water anymore” said Max.  
Glenn then flipped a light switch on the wall and frowned when nothing happen.  
“Aaron said we have to turn on the power” said Max.  
“Oh yeah” said Glenn.  
They quickly found the door to the basement and Max and Beth carefully walked down the dimly lit stairs.  
“What are we looking for?” asked Beth  
“That” said Max, pointing.  
Built into one of the walls of the basement, was a large metal shelf, filled with what looked like massive car batteries. There were a dozen in total and Beth gave Max a confused look. He didn’t say anything and walked over to the batteries. There was also a panel built into the shelf that had some dials and a big red switch, the same switch Aaron had mentioned  
“So we get our electricity from these?” Beth asked, touching one of the batteries.  
“Yeah” he said  
“How?, I mean, how do they stay charged?” she asked.  
“Know much about solar power?” Max asked in response.  
Beth wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She vaguely remembered her science teacher talking about it back in high school, but that was so long ago and she never paid much attention in science class anyway.  
“Well the solar panels on the roof convert sunlight into electricity, which gets stored in these batteries” he explained  
“Wow, just like that?” Beth asked, impressed.  
“Well, yeah but the electricity stored in batteries is direct current, so if we want to power the lights or use a toaster, then it needs to be run through this inverter here, which will convert it for us to use” he said, patting a boxy device connected to the batteries.  
Beth took it all in but it was all a little too much to wrap her head around just yet.  
“Just got yourself a science lesson miss Greene” he said with a grin and Beth just rolled her eyes.  
Max chuckled and then flipped the red switch on the panel. Beth heard a soft hum and Max then walked over the light switch on the wall. He flipped it and the basement was suddenly bathed in light.  
“Oh cool” said Beth in awe.  
“Yeah, it is pretty cool, as long as we have sunlight we’ll have power” said Max.  
The two of them walked back upstairs and rejoined the others.  
“Checked upstairs?” Max asked them.  
“No, not yet, ” said Noah.  
Max looked at Beth, she nodded and the two of them walked upstairs to check it out. Max opened the first door they came too, and revealed a large spacious bedroom that looked over the street. A king sized bed sat against the window and Beth ran her hand over the luxurious untouched bedspread.  
“Should we claim it?” Max then asked.  
“Hmm, maybe, it is a lovely room” said Beth.  
She walked over to a beautiful wooden dresser with a built in mirror and saw the original owner’s hair brushes, makeup and other beauty products were still laid out top. Beth ran her fingers over them and wondered if whoever had owned them would mind her touching their things.  
Beth then opened the top draw of the dresser and found them filled woman’s underwear and delicates. She closed the drawer and saw Max had found a walk in closet filled with clothes, from dresses to men’s business suits.  
“Looks like we can upgrade our wardrobe” said Beth.  
“What do you think?” Max then asked as he held up a dress shirt against his chest.  
“Oh, very nice” said Beth with a grin.  
They left the closet and Beth opened another a door, finding a en suite bathroom. She stepped inside and saw a spa style bath and a separate shower. The whole room was sparkling white, looking like it had never been used. Beth walked up to the sink and turned on one of the taps, gasping in delight as hot water poured from it.  
“Max, the water is hot now” she said excitedly.  
“Yeah?, that’s awesome” he said.  
“We can have hot showers" said Beth.  
Beth couldn't remember the last time she had a hot shower, most likely back at the farm. She wanted nothing better than to strip down and shower right then and there, but it would have to wait for the moment. Max and Beth left the bathroom and then the bedroom, running into Maggie and Glenn in the hallway. The four of them then looked through the other rooms, finding several more bedrooms and a large bathroom. The other bedrooms weren’t as big as the first one and Beth guessed it had to be the master bedroom.  
With the house now completely explored, the group decided that a hot shower couldn’t wait any longer. There was actually three bathrooms with showers in the house and people started calling first dibs.  
Beth realised it would be too difficult to have a shower with her cast, so she would have to settle for a bath. She didn’t care one bit about that and made her way up to the master bedroom.  
Beth closed the bathroom door and turned on the water in the tub. It began to fill up and Beth made sure she had everything she needed. There were neatly folded towels stacked on a shelf and bottles of shampoo and body wash lined the bath. Beth opened the sink cupboard and draws and found some disposable razors and even electric hair clippers, which would be perfect for Max.  
The tub was now almost full and Beth stripped out of her clothes, throwing them to the tiled floor in a heap. She stepped into the bath and sat down gingerly, sighing as the water enveloped her body.  
The water felt so good, she stretched out, closed her eyes and just soaked it all in. Beth wished she could just lay in the water for hours, but others would need to use the bathroom.  
Beth scrubbed herself down, washed her hair with the bath's detachable shower tap and then gave her legs a shave with one of the razors she had found.  
Beth felt like a whole new person with all the accumulated grime and sweat from the last couple of days now gone. The water in the tub was almost black now so Beth decided to get out, not wanting to soak in her own filth for much longer. She stepped out of the tub, pulled out the plug and grabbed a towel. She was about to dry herself off when there was a knock on the door.  
“All good in there?” asked Max through the door.  
“Yeah, you can come in” she said.  
She wrapped her towel around herself and Max walked in.  
“Good bath?" he asked as the last of the water in the tub drained out.  
“So good” she replied with a satisfied sigh.  
“Nice, I think I’m gonna take a shower” said Max.  
He stripped off his clothes and Beth couldn’t help but stare at his naked body. Max caught her and she blushed.  
“Enjoying the view?” he asked with a grin.  
“Oh, very much so” she assured and then giggled.  
Max just chuckled and turned on the water in the shower. Beth gave him one last longing look and the left him to his shower.  
She walked back into the bedroom and dried off. She then walked into the closet to find something to wear, not wanting to put her dirty clothes back on. The clothes were roughly in her size so Beth grabbed a top and a pair of jeans. She threw them on, finding they fitted nicely. She also grabbed something for Max to wear, hoping they would fit as well.  
Beth heard the shower stop and she walked back into the bathroom to find Max towelling off. He then wrapped the towel around his waist and looked at himself in the mirror.  
“So get rid of the beard?” he asked her and she nodded.  
Beth opened the sink cupboard, grabbed one of the disposable razors and a can of shaving cream from it. Max grinned and took the razor and the cream from her. He quickly shaved off his stubble and Beth couldn’t help smilingly at the change.  
“Much better" she said rubbing his now smooth face.  
“Yeah?” Max asked with a grin.  
“Oh yes” she assured with a smile.  
Beth then pulled two toothbrushes still in their packets from the sink drawer and held them up.  
“Ok blue or yellow?” she asked.  
“Hmm yellow I think” he said  
Beth handed it over and then opened the blue toothbrush. They both brushed twice and when they were done Beth’s teeth had never felt cleaner.  
Beth and Max grinned at each other and then Beth decided Max’s also needed a haircut.  
“Now we need to trim the hair” she said firmly.  
Beth opened the drawer and pulled out the electric hair clippers. Max sat down without protest and she proceeded to shave off his hair. She had never given someone a hair cut before, but it seemed pretty straight forward. She didn’t shave it too much off, just enough that it was no longer thick and messy. The change was impressive and Beth was amazed at how good he looked.  
“Nicely done miss Greene” said Max, looking at himself in the mirror and rubbing his now shaven head.  
Beth beamed at the praise, pleased she had done a good job. They then cleaned up the mess and Max redressed in the clothes she had picked out for him. They rejoined the others downstairs and found the others, showered and looking very refreshed.  
“Well, don’t you two look nice” said Maggie with a grin.  
“So do you” said Beth in return.  
“Where did you find the clothes?” Maggie then asked.  
“In the main bedroom, there’s a whole bunch of them” said Beth.  
Maggie nodded and then she and the others went to get clean clothes for themselves. Beth wasn’t sure what to do next, but Max suggested they get some of their things from the Bushmaster.  
It was late afternoon now and the sun was setting as they left the house. They began walking down the empty street and Beth was still a little overwhelmed by the eerie calmness and peacefulness of the place.  
Beth and Max made their way to the main gate, where they had left the bushmaster the day before and found it still right where Max had parked it. They climbed inside and Max began pulling out some of their bags.  
“Do you think we should hand over those?” Beth asked, pointing to the full weapon rack.  
“Yeah, we probably should, but not all of them ” said Max and Beth gave him a confused look.  
“I trust these people Beth but we need to be armed, even inside” he said.  
Beth nodded, she didn’t like breaking Deanna’s rule about guns inside the walls, but Max did have a valid point. Max took two pistols, a small sub machine gun, some ammo for all three weapons and then placed them into Beth’s go bag.  
“So we hand over the rest?” Beth asked, just wanting to be sure.  
“Yeah” said Max.  
He placed the remaining weapons; three assault rifles, two shotguns and a couple of pistols into a large duffel bag. Max’s massive sniper rifle wouldn’t fit in the bag, so he slung it over his shoulder.  
“Come on, let’s take these to the armoury” he said, picking up the bag of weapons.  
Beth nodded, slung her pack on her back and grabbed the remaining bag. They began to walk to the house where they had surrendered their weapons and ran into Aaron, who looked like he was just out for a walk.  
“Hey, you two” said Aaron.  
“Hi” said Beth.  
“Need any help with those?” asked Aaron, indicating the bags.  
“Yeah sure, we need to hand these in” said Max, showing him the weapons.  
Aaron nodded, took the bag Beth was holding and she gave him a thankful smile.  
“So I see you got the showers working” said Aaron.  
“Yeah, can’t remember the last time I had a hot shower” said Max and Beth nodded in agreement.  
“And a change of clothes as well” said Aaron.  
“Yeah, the house had a whole bunch of clothes in one of the bedrooms” said Beth.  
“Yes, we’ve kept those houses for when new people arrive, someone cleans them every so often and makes sure they are habitable, that includes the clothes you found” explained Aaron.  
“Did the clothes belong to the original owners of the house?” Beth asked curiously.  
“You know what?, I think they did” said Aaron after a thoughtful moment.  
They continued on walking and soon reached the community’s armoury. Aaron knocked on the door and the same woman who had taken their weapons, opened it.  
“Oh hi Aaron” said the woman.  
“Hey Olivia, this is Max and Beth, they got some more weapons for the armoury” said Aaron.  
“Oh ok” said Olivia with a smile.  
She led them into a room that was filled with weapons, rifles lined the walls and boxes of ammo filled the shelves of another. Max put the bag of their weapons down and Beth saw him taking a very interested note of the room.  
“Wow, that’s a big rifle” said Olivia as Max unslung his sniper rifle from his back.  
“Yeah it’s a bit of a beast” said Max.  
“Well, thank you for handing these in” said Olivia with another warm smile.  
Beth touched the straps of her pack and tried not to look too guilty about the weapons they weren’t handing over. Max, Beth and Aaron left Olivia to write down the relinquished guns and then headed back to their houses, where they parted ways with Aaron.  
Aaron promised to check in with them in the morning and Beth and Max walked up to their new home. They found the entire group inside and looking remarkably cleaner. Everyone was showered and changed, everyone except Daryl that is, who looked no different.  
Rick gathered everyone in the lounge room and suggested they all stay in the same house for the night. Everyone seemed to agree with Rick and then he looked at Max, who just nodded. Beth could see there was still some tension between them and hoped nothing bad would come of it.  
The group began to make themselves comfortable around the house and Beth didn’t know what to do with herself. She looked to Max, but he had become very interested in the large flat screen mounted on the wall in the lounge room.  
She joined him and he opened a large wooden cabinet next to the tv, revealing it to be filled with hundreds of dvds. Beth had never seen a collection so big outside of a store and began to look over the titles. She gasped when she came to a selection of Disney movies and saw ‘The Little Mermaid’.  
“Oh Max look” she said, showing him the case.  
“Oh cool, maybe we can watch it tonight, ” he suggested with a smile.  
Beth grinned at the prospect and continued to look over the rest of the movies. Mika and Lizzie then joined her, both with excited looks on their faces  
“Oh can we put one on?” asked Lizzie  
“Hmm maybe later” said Beth and gave both of the girls a grin.  
There was a knock at the door and everyone looked towards it with concern. Beth and Max went to open it and found a smiling man and a woman standing on the front porch. The man was holding a large pot and Beth could smell something delicious coming from it.  
“Oh, hi there, I’m Lilly and this is Jake, we live across the street, we wanted to introduce ourselves and bring you something as a sort of a ‘welcome to the neighbourhood’ gift” said the woman.  
“That’s so nice I’m Beth and this is Max” said Beth.  
The two smiled and then Max took the pot from them.  
“Well, we’ll leave you to it, we just live in that house over there if you have any questions” said Lilly.  
Beth and Max nodded and then Lilly and Jake walked off. Beth and Max closed the door and turned to find Rick, standing in the front hall.  
“Who was that?” asked Rick suspiciously.  
“Our new neighbours apparently and they made us dinner” said Max,  
Max carried the pot into the kitchen and put it down on the bench. Beth took off the pot’s lid and found it was filled with an amazing smelling vegetable soup.  
Rick looked in the pot, sniffed the soup warily and Max raised an eyebrow in response.  
“I seriously don’t think they want to poison us Rick” said Max and Rick scowled.  
“Start dishing it out?” Beth asked, ignoring Rick’s reaction.  
“Yeah I’m starving” said Max.  
Everyone else was as well and there was a flurry of activity as the group prepared to eat. Beth found some bowls, but not enough for everyone. Carol went next door to get more and soon everyone was sitting around the house, eating happily.  
The soup was piping hot and delicious and Beth quickly wolfed hers down. She sat her empty bowl down and let out a satisfied sigh.  
“That was so good” she said to Max.  
“Yeah, not bad at all” he said in agreement and Beth grinned.  
Noah, Rosita and Karen offered to wash up and everyone else made themselves comfortable in the lounge room. Mika and Lizzie walked over to the open dvd cabinet and then looked around the room.  
“Can we watch a movie now?” said Mika hopefully.  
“I don’t know girls, maybe not tonight” said Carol.  
“Oh ok” said Mika and both girls looked crestfallen.  
Beth was little disappointed as well, but she guessed everyone still needed to settle in and adjust.  
The group occupied themselves and they soon made plans for sleeping arrangements. Rick suggested they all sleep in the lounge room. Beth almost groaned at the idea, she knew Rick was just being cautious, but she didn’t really want to sleep in the crowded room with everyone practically on top of each other. She looked at Max and he seemed to think the same thing. Beth was about to find out for sure when there was another knock on the door. Rick opened it this time, returning with Deanna.  
“Well, don’t you all look nice ” she said, looking around the room.  
“I just wanted to stop by and see how you were all settling in, and all staying together, smart” she said with a smile.  
“No one said we couldn't” said Rick gruffly.  
“You said you're a family, that's what you said” said Deanna in response.  
Deanna looked around the room again and this time some of the group gave her smiles, including Beth.  
“Now I’m still closing in on some jobs for you all, something for you, Sasha and I'm just trying to figure Mr. Dixon out, but I will” she said.  
“And me?” asked Rick.  
“I have a job for you, I just haven't told you what it is yet, same with Michonne” said Deanna.  
Rick nodded and Deanna gave him and everyone else another warm smile  
“Well, everyone get some sleep, rest up and I'll be back in the morning for the official tour” she said.  
Deanna left and everyone decided to turn in. Beth shot Max a glance and he jerked his head upwards  
“What do you say we go claim that bedroom” he suggested.  
Beth nodded and Max picked up the pack with the guns. They began to make their way upstairs, but Rick stopped them at the foot of the stairs.  
“Where are you going?, we need to stay together” he said quietly.  
“There’s no need for that Rick, besides, besides being all in the same room isn’t exactly smart” said Max calmly.  
Rick’s face darkened and Beth threw Max a frighten look, not liking where this conversation was going.  
“Look Rick I know you just trying to keep everyone safe and so I’m I” said Max calmly.  
With that, Max held out his hand to Beth, she quickly took it and he led her up the stairs, leaving Rick behind. They walked into the master bedroom and Max shut the door behind them.  
“You ok?” Beth asked softly, touching his arm.  
“Yeah, I’m good” Max assured her and Beth nodded.  
She began to undress for bed and Max did the same. Beth slipped into the soft sheets of the bed and smiled at how good they felt. She watched Max as he pulled out one of the pistols and the smg, placing both of them on the bedside table.  
“You think we’ll need them?” asked Beth  
“No, not at all, but it's better to be prepared” he said and Beth nodded  
Max then turned out the light and slipped into bed beside her. Beth snuggled into him and lay her head on his chest.  
"Night Max" she whispered.  
"Night Beth" he whispered back.  
She sighed happily, closed her eyes and was soon lulled to sleep by Max’s heartbeat.  
Beth woke the next morning to warm sun on her face, looking up at yet another unfamiliar ceiling. She was a little tired of waking up in strange rooms and hoped that she could soon call this one her own. Despite this, Beth felt strangely energized and ready for a new day. She stretched, waking Max.  
“Morning” she said happily.  
“Morning beautiful” he said with a grin.  
He pulled her into him and she giggled with delight as he kissed her.  
“So handsome, what are we doing today?” she asked.  
“Don’t know yet, how bout we start with some breakfast?” he suggested  
“Sounds good” said Beth.  
They got dressed and made their way downstairs. Most of the group was already up and moving about the house. Beth and Max walked into the kitchen, finding Maggie and Glenn.  
“Morning” said Beth to them.  
Maggie gave her a smile but Glenn just nodded and Beth guessed he didn’t have a good night sleeping on the floor. Mika and Lizzie then came into the kitchen, giving everyone big smiles.  
“Morning everyone” said Mika happily  
“Morning girls” said Beth  
“So um what’s for breakfast?” asked Lizzie.  
“I don’t know girls, let's have a look" said Maggie  
Maggie was about to open a cupboard when they then heard a knock on the front door and Beth wondered if this was the normal for them now, people just dropping by.  
Karen and Carol answered the door and they returned holding a large metal jug and large plastic container.  
“You’ll never guess what was just dropped off” asked Karen  
“What?” asked Mika excitedly.  
“Milk and eggs” Karen answered.  
Beth eyes widened in surprise and she wasn’t the only one.  
“What?, really?” Beth asked.  
Karen nodded and opened a box, showing everyone it was filled with two dozen or so eggs.  
“Yes and oatmeal and cereal as well” replied Carol.  
Carol, Karen and Rosita began making breakfast. Some of the group just grabbed some cereal and made some oatmeal, but others like Beth wanted eggs. Carol decided to scramble the eggs and then dished them out to those who wanted some.  
The eggs were amazing and was the best breakfast, Beth had eaten in a long time. When everyone was done with their breakfast, Beth helped Noah and Carl wash up. They were washing up the last plate when Deanna turned up at the front door.  
“Well, good morning” she said as she came inside.  
Everyone greeted her warmly and Deanna suggested they begin to tour of the community. They all followed her outside and Deanna began to lead them from the house.  
Other Alexandrian’s were also up and about and they waved and smiled as the group passed them. Deanna led them along a street and Beth’s eyes widened as they came to a couple of empty blocks.  
“Oh look”she said.  
The empty blocks had been fenced off and Beth saw three cows happily eating grass while a dozen or more chickens ran about a smaller fenced off pen. That explains where the eggs and milk came from thought Beth.  
“The cows are milked daily and the chickens provided us eggs and occasionally meat” said Deanna.  
One of the cows was grazing close to the fence and lifted its head as Beth approached it. She reached her hand and the cow let her rub its head. The cow looked at Beth with its big brown eyes and then continued on grazing.  
“They look so peaceful”said Beth.  
“Yes, they do, don’t they, we move them from block to block, so that the grass has a chance to regrow” Deanna explained.  
She then continued on with the tour, showing them a garden being tended be several people, a large row of huge solar panels and even a small church, which Beth saw Father Gabriel smile at the sight of.  
Deanna ended the tour at the community’s pantry, located in a large garage. It was filled with food of all types, stacked high on metal shelves that took up most of the garage.  
“Well, that’s everything for now, but please explore some more and get yourself comfortable with the place” said Deanna.  
They group thanked her and Deanna smiled at them all.  
“Ok then I’ll leave you all to it, just one more thing, I’m having a little get together tonight at my place as a sort of welcome party and it would be lovely if to see you all there” said Deanna.  
“We’ll be there” said Rick, speaking for the group.  
Deanna nodded and the group then split up. Maggie went with Deanna to discuss her new role and the rest of the group split up. Some like Max, continued to explore, but Beth and some others opted to return back to the houses. Beth busied herself in the bedroom when she got back to the house, sorting through some of the clothes and remade the bed. She then grabbed her notebook from her pack, went back downstairs and settled into one of the couches in the lounge to write.  
Max soon returned to the house and as he sat down next her, Beth asked how his exploring went.  
“Yeah the place seems pretty secure” he said and Beth heard something in his voice that gave her some concern.  
“Pretty secure?” she asked.  
“Well, there’s a lot of blind spots, people could get over the walls and they have no one on watch” he said  
“Do you think it could be a problem?” Beth asked worriedly.  
“I can’t really say, but I might suggest some things to Deanna” said Max.  
Beth nodded, she was a little troubled about what Max had observed about Alexandria, but pushed it out of her mind. Max must have sensed her concern and gave Beth a reassuring look.  
“It was just some observations I made, but these people have survived for so long without any problems so I don’t think we are in any danger” he said.  
Beth smiled, convinced and Max put his arm around her.  
“So miss Greene, we going to attend this party tonight?” he asked.  
Beth just shrugged and Max raised an eyebrow.  
“Not too keen?” he asked.  
“I don’t know” said Beth  
“It might be fun, meet some new people” he said.  
“Yeah that could be good or we could just stay here, have the place to ourselves” Beth said suggestively.  
A grin appeared on his face and his eyes lit up.  
“Oh?, and what would we do here, all alone?” he asked.  
“I have some ideas” she whispered.  
“Yeah?, what kind of ideas?” he growled and Beth giggled.  
Max then eased her back on the couch and began to kiss her gently. She thought back to the days at the prison, when they would make out like this and smiled at the memory.  
Beth then felt Max’s hand on her stomach and grinned up at him. Max just grinned back and his fingers then edged up under her top. Beth bit her lip gently and just watched as he then slipped his whole hand up her top.  
“This what you had in mind?” he whispered, his eyes filled with lust.  
“Yes” she whispered back.  
His hand slid up further and palmed one of her breasts. Beth let out a soft moan and wanted him to tear off her clothes and take her right there on the couch.  
Suddenly the front door opened and footsteps filled the room. Beth squeaked and pulled Max’s hand out and sat up just as Maggie walked into the lounge room.  
“Well, you two look cosy” said Maggie with an amused smile on her face.  
Beth blushed a bright crimson and she heard Max chuckle.  
“Well the couch is pretty comfy” said Max causally.  
Maggie laughed and Beth thought she was going to die of embarrassment. She felt like a teenager again, quite literally caught making out on the couch.  
“So how did it go with Deanna?” Beth, changing the subject.  
Maggie continued to grin teasingly, but then answered Beth, putting her out of her misery.  
“Good, really good, she seems to know how to really run things here” said Maggie.  
“Yeah, I got that impression as well” said Max.  
“So what are you going to do for her?” Beth asked.  
“Help her, sort of like a personal assistant or something” said Maggie.  
Beth nodded and wondered what job Deanna might have in store for her.  
Beth, Max and Maggie and others that joined them over the afternoon, hung out in the lounge room until it was soon time to go to Deanna’s party.  
Max and Beth went upstairs to get ready. Beth selected a cute pink blouse and a pair of jeans to wear and changed into them.  
Beth then looked at herself in the dresser mirror and touched her scars softly, wishing she could do something about them. She decided to wear her hair down, in an effort to cover them. Beth saw Max looking at her in the mirror reflection and she blushed.  
“What do you think?” she asked him.  
“You look amazing Beth” he said.  
Beth was still unsure of that, but gave Max a small smile.  
“Come on” he said, holding out his hand.  
Beth stood up to take it and the two of them walked downstairs, finding some of the others already waiting.  
“You look really nice Beth” said Mika and Beth smiled at them.  
“Thanks Mika, you two look nice as well” said Beth.  
“Told you” Max whispered in her ear as Lizzie and Mika grinned at her.  
“Ok, shall we do this?” asked Glenn.  
Everyone nodded and they all walked out of the house. They were joined by Abraham, Rosita and Eugene on the street and the joined group then made their way to Deanna’s.  
They reached Deanna's house and Beth could hear the sound of people talking and laughing. Max gave everyone a look and then knocked on the door. It was quickly opened by Deanna and another man, who gave them all a bright smile.  
“Well hello there, come on inside” said Deanna.  
The all walked into the house and Deanna closed the door behind them.  
“Everyone this is my husband Reg” said Deanna, introducing the man with her.  
“Hi everyone, nice to meet you all and I just have to say, you are all very remarkable people” said Reg.  
Everyone just stared at him in confusion and he chuckled.  
“Maybe I should clarify, I’ve watched the tapes, all of them” he explained.  
Deanna then led them into the lounge room and Beth saw the room was bustling with people. She looked around nervously, feeling like she was back in high school just arriving at a party and feeling like she didn’t belong.  
Deanna then placed her hand on Beth’s arm and gave her a warm smile.  
“Beth, there’s someone I want you to talk to” she said.  
Deanna waved to a man and a woman and they came over.  
“Pete, Jessie, this is Max and Beth” said Deanna.  
“Hi there, ” said Jessie warmly and Max and Beth shook hands with the couple.  
“Pete is our town doctor and Jessie works in our pantry” explained Deanna  
“Oh right” said Beth.  
She then saw Pete glance over her face with an interested look, obviously noticing her cuts.  
“Can I?” he asked.  
Beth glanced at Max and then nodded at Pete. Pete then examined the cuts on her face and gave her a smile.  
“Well, I have to say, whoever stitched you up did a great job, the stitches are more than ready to come out” he said.  
“What about the cast?” asked Max.  
“Is it broken?” Pete asked in reply.  
“No, they said it was just fractured” said Beth.  
“Hmm well how long ago was it fractured?” asked Pete.  
“Bout a week” said Beth.  
“Then you might have to keep it on for a couple of more weeks before it’s healed properly” said Pete.  
Beth was a little disappointed to hear this, she was hoping to get the cast off her earlier than that, but she was happy to hear her stitches were ready to come out.  
“Thanks doc” said Max.  
“No problem, come see tomorrow and we’ll get those stitches out” said Pete.  
Beth promised she would and then Pete and Jessie excused themselves, returning to the people they had been talking to before.  
“Come on, let’s get something to eat” Max suggested and indicated a table laden with food and drinks.  
They made their way over to the table and Beth smiled at Noah, who was looking over the choices.  
“Never seen so much food, even back at Grady” said Noah.  
“Yeah” said Beth in agreement.  
She picked up a plate and was about to grab something when a woman called out from across the room.  
“Oh my god Max?, Max is that you?” asked the woman.  
Max turned and Beth saw his eyes widen and jaw drop as the woman came over to them.  
“Molly?, holy shit” said Max and the two embraced.  
“Deanna said there was an Australian in the new group but I never would have guessed it would be you” said the woman called Molly.  
Molly was a tall, stunningly beautiful woman with raven hair and flawless tanned skin. Beth felt a little intimidated in her presence and Molly didn’t seem to even acknowledge her.  
“Molly this is Beth, Beth, this Molly, she was the ambassador’s daughter in DC, ” said Max, in a tone like he still didn’t believe what was happening.  
“Oh, hi” said Beth, not knowing what else to say.  
Molly gave her a smile, but instantly turned her attention back to Max.  
“How did you end up here?, last time I saw you, those ASIO agents were escorting you and your father out of the city” said Max.  
“That’s a long story” said Molly.  
“Is your dad here?” Max asked and Molly shook her head.  
“No, he didn’t make it,” she replied sadly.  
There was an awkward moment, but then Molly’s smile reappeared.  
“Look, I’ll let you guys eat, we can catch up later and talk more” she then said.  
“Yeah, sounds good” said Max and Molly left, walking outside  
“So um you used to work for her dad?” Beth asked Max when they were alone.  
“Yeah, back in Washington, ” he said simply.  
Beth was about to ask more, but, Maggie, Glenn, Tara and Karen joined them at the food table. They filled their plates up and then all grabbed a drink.  
Max pulled a beer from the ice tub and Beth picked out a can of cherry cola. They all took their food and drinks outside. They saw a large table on the back porch and Beth and the others sat at it. Beth looked around the backyard as she and the others began eating and saw a brick fireplace with a large fire burning in it.  
Beth turned back to her food and began to eat everything down. The food was amazing and Beth quickly finished off her plate. When they had all finished, Noah and Karen took the plates and cutlery inside to be washed.  
Beth then saw Molly wave at Max and he got up to join her. Beth thought for a second he was just going to leave her at the table, but he indicated for her to follow him. Beth got up and grabbed Maggie’s hand subtlety as she could  
“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked with concern.  
“Just come with us” said Beth.  
Maggie nodded, got up from the table and the three of them walked over to where Molly was sitting with a group of Alexandrians around the fire pit. There was a roaring fire in the pit and Beth  
“Have a seat guys” said Molly.  
She patted the curved bench she was sitting on and Beth, Max and Maggie sat down.  
“Everyone this is Max, Beth and it’s Maggie, right?” said Molly and Maggie nodded.  
Molly then introduced the other adults around the fire pit, Jean, Miguel, Tobias, Sven and Clare. There was a short moment of hand shaking and warm greetings and Beth noticed everyone had a foreign accent.  
“We are the little international portion of Alexandria” said of them, Tobias with a laugh.  
“So Max what happened to you after DC?” Molly then asked.  
Max told her everything from how he had escaped DC and then found his was down to Georgia where he had come across Beth and finally the prison.  
“You were living in a prison?” asked Clare, in disbelief.  
“Yeah, we were and we were safe, for a while” said Max and glanced at Beth and Maggie.  
“What happened?” asked Clare.  
“We were attacked by another group, we lost our home and some very good people with it” said Maggie.  
Beth squeezed Maggie’s hand, knowing they were both thinking about their father.  
“Oh I’m so sorry, that must have been devastating” said Sven, in his thick accent.  
“Yeah, it was, we then wandered for a while, found ourself in some more trouble, had some more setbacks, lost some more people and then Aaron found us” said Max  
“And now you are here” said Molly.  
“Yeah” said Max.  
“Well, we are happy to have you here” said Molly.  
With Max, Maggie and Beth’s story told, some of the others began explaining how they had come to Alexandria. All of the stories were similar, they had been evacuated from DC and brought here by the national guard from various airports and evacuation camps. Beth noticed their stories were empty of bloodshed and hardship. She guessed they had lived a very sheltered life since the outbreak and Beth felt a little envious of them.  
Molly then turned to Beth and gave her a bright smile.  
“So Beth, how old are you?” she asked  
”I’m eighteen”said Beth.  
“Wow, so young, so do you have a boyfriend?, because if not, there are a couple of cute boys your age here” said Molly and the others laughed  
“You matching making again Molly?” asked Sven.  
Beth glanced at Max and he slipped his hand into hers.  
“Beth and I are together” said Max in an unflinchingly tone and Beth saw Molly’s smile disappear.  
There was an awkward tense silence as the everyone looked at each other and Beth began to feel extremely self conscious, wondering if the entire Alexandrian community was going act this way when they found out Beth and Max were a couple.  
There was a cough and Clare, the woman from Ireland then smiled warmly.  
“Well, ok then, not our place to judge, is it?” she said, looking around at the others.  
The others nodded, the tension in the air evaporated and Beth let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Someone then asked another question, changing the subject and the conversation moved on.  
Beth gave Max a look and he gave her a reassuring look in return.  
“Another drink?” he asked.  
Beth looked at the now empty can of soda in her hand and nodded. They got up and walked away from the fire pit. Beth felt Max’s hand on her back and she looked up at him.  
“You ok?” he asked her gently.  
“I don’t know, do you think everyone will be like that?, you know about us?” Beth asked him in return, worry deep in her voice.  
Max looked around at the Alexandrians and his face hardened.  
“Fuck em if they do Beth, they don’t know us and they do get a say in our relationship” he said.  
Beth felt a wave of love and emotion for him, loving that he wasn’t concerned about what anyone thought of them. She felt more relieved now, but there was something else she needed to know, hoping it wouldn’t be heart breaking.  
“So um were you and Molly ever..” she trailed off, not able to finish the sentence.  
Max looked confused for a second, then a look of understanding appeared on his face.  
“Me and molly?, no never” he said.  
Beth looked into his eyes, knew he was telling the truth and a huge feeling of relief washed over her again.  
“Oh good, I just thought maybe you and her, I mean it was before we met, but..” she said.  
“No Beth, never, besides, she’s not my type” said Max.  
This caught Beth’s attention and she looked up at him with a questioning look.  
“Not your type?” she asked.  
“Nope, I prefer cute little blondes with beautiful blue eyes” he said with a teasing smile and Beth blushed.  
“Yeah?” she asked, a teasing smile now on her face as well.  
“Oh most definitely” he assured and Beth giggled.  
“Well, good” she said.  
They continued on inside and walked over to the drinks table. Beth looked at all the choices again, but couldn’t make a decision. She knew she probably should pick another soda, but everyone else was drinking alcohol of some sort and Beth wanted to look more adult, especially now. Beth had never drunk alcohol in her life, even at the few high school parties she had attended and had no idea what to pick.  
“Ok, so what do want to drink, something stronger this time?” Max asked, pulling her from her thoughts  
“Um, yeah ok” she said.  
“Hmm, ok, so what takes your fancy?” he asked.  
Beth looked over the table again and then picked up a bottle.  
“What about peach schnapps?” she asked, reading the label.  
Max made a face and took the bottle from her, returning it back to the table.  
“Nah can’t let your first drink be peach schnapps” he said with disdain.  
“Ok, what do you suggest then?” Beth asked.  
“Hmm how bout a nice white wine?” he suggested.  
Beth shrugged in response and Max pulled a bottle from the tub of ice. He grabbed a glass and poured some of the amber liquid into it. He then handed the glass and Beth took a small sip. The wine had a strong but slightly sweet taste and wasn’t all like she was expecting.  
“Good?” he asked.  
“Yeah, not bad, ” she said with a smile and Max grinned back.  
Max then grabbed another bottle of beer and they walked back outside, finding a bigger group was now gathered around the fire pit. Reg came up to them, wanting to discuss some things with Max. Max gave Beth a glance, she nodded and continued over to the fire pit. Maggie raised an eyebrow at the glass in Beth’s hand as she sat back down and Beth readied for her to explode She didn’t though and Beth saw a little smile appear on her sister’s face.  
“What you got there?” Maggie asked her.  
“Some wine” said Beth simply.  
”Oh really?” asked Maggie and Beth just nodded and grinned.  
“Like it?” Maggie asked.  
“Yeah, it’s not bad” said Beth.  
Maggie laughed and so did Beth. Beth was enjoying being at the party now and happily sipped at her wine as the fire shot sparks up into the night sky. She watched people talking and laughing and couldn’t help but be amazed at how normal it all seemed, like the dead had never begun walking the earth.  
Max soon returned to his seat next to Beth and gave her a smile.  
“Having fun?” he asked.  
“Yeah, I am actually, ” she answered truthfully.  
“You need another drink?” he asked  
Beth looked at Maggie who was deep in conversation with Glenn and another Alexandrian and then shook her head  
“Maybe just the one glass tonight” she said.  
“Oh getting a bit light headed are we?” he asked teasingly.  
“No, I’m fine” she said with a smile.  
Max nodded and then looked at her with a playful smile.  
“Wanna get out of here?” he asked.  
Beth’s eyes widened and she looked around at everyone.  
“Yeah?” she asked.  
“Yeah, let’s get out of here” he said.  
Beth giggled and Max stood up, pulling her to her feet. They quickly said their goodbyes to those around the fire and left the party, making their way back to their new home.  
They found the house dark and empty and Beth and Max’s house mates weren’t home yet.  
“Looks like we have the place to ourselves” said Beth  
“Looks like we do, miss Greene” said Max in agreement and Beth giggled.  
They walked into the kitchen and poured themselves a glass of water each. Beth sat up on the kitchen bench as she drank her water and couldn’t keep the excited grin off her face.  
Max moved in between her legs and Beth grabbed his shirt, pulling him into her. He began to kiss her neck and Beth let out a soft moan. It felt so good, but Beth wanted more, much more. She pushed him away a fixed him with a seductive look.  
“Take me to bed Max” she ordered.  
“Yes, ma’am” he growled.  
Max picked her up and set her back down on the floor. He took her hand and then led her up the stairs to their bedroom. Max shut the door behind them and they both quickly ripped off their shoes.  
Beth pulled him to the bed and they quickly tore each others clothes off, throwing them to the floor.  
Max began kissing her naked body as she lay splayed on the soft sheets, paying careful attention to her breasts. Beth’s pulse began to race and she uttered a soft moan. Max’s wandering lips then kissed down her body and quickly reached between her legs. A delightful jolt of pleasure shot through her as his mouth found her pussy and she let out yet another moan.  
“Oh god Max” she whispered, gripping the sheets in her hand.  
He began to lick her while rubbing his thumb against her clit and Beth began to shake with delight. She closed her eyes and arched her back, trying to get more of her pussy into his mouth and her loud moans filled the room.  
Suddenly he pulled away and she snapped open her eyes.  
“Sorry babe, I can’t take it anymore,I need to be inside you” he growled.  
“Oh yes Max please fuck me” she pleaded  
Max positioned himself between her legs, rubbed his cock against her entrance and then eased into her. He slid easily into her wet, ready pussy and they both groaned with satisfaction.  
“Oh god Max that feels so good” she moaned  
“Oh fuck yes, you’re so goddamn tight Beth” groaned Max.  
Max began to move in and out of her with gentle thrusts at first but quickly picked up pace, going deeper and stronger. Beth knew she wasn’t going to last long and could feel her inevitable orgasm drawing ever closer.  
“Oh god Max, oh yes, don’t stop” she moaned loudly  
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Max brought her to the edge. Beth almost saw stars as her orgasm crested through her and she grabbed her pillow to muffle her screams of pleasure.  
She was brought back to earth when she heard Max grunt and then felt his cock pull from her, quickly spilling on her stomach. He collapsed on the bed beside her and they both just lay, panting and catching their breaths  
“Oh wow Max, just wow” she whispered.  
“Yeah?” he asked.  
“Oh god yes, I love you so much” said kissing him.  
When they had recovered enough, they had cleaned off in the bathroom, pulled on fresh sleepwear and returned to the bed. Beth tucked herself into Max and let out a contented sigh.  
“Happily, there Beth?” he asked.  
Beth smiled up at him and nodded.  
“Very happy” Beth assured.  
Beth let out another contented sigh and laid her head on his chest. She began to imagine the happy life she and Max could have now, safe at Alexandria. She hoped nothing would threaten that happiness, but she quickly pushed that thought away, closed her eyes and soon drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep..


	2. Chapter 2

Max woke and found Beth sleeping peacefully beside him. He didn’t wake her and just let her keep sleeping as the last couple of days had been somewhat stressful and Max was thankful for the peaceful moment. Beth muttered something in her sleep and Max grinned. He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and then a small smile appeared on her face. Beth opened her eyes and looked up at him, her smile widening.  
“Hey” she said.  
“Morning” Max said back.  
Beth yawned, stretched and rolled over, placing her hand on his chest.  
“Good sleep?” she asked.  
“Yeah, real good” he replied and Beth giggled softly.  
“So what are we doing today?” she asked.  
Max already knew what he was doing that day. Deanna and Reg had informed him the night before that Max and a few others would be starting supply run duty today.  
“Well I have to report for run duty later” he replied and Beth’s smile faded.  
“Oh, you’re going on a run?” she asked.  
There was worry in her voice and Max could also see the worry etched into her face.  
“Yeah, sometime today” he said  
“Why didn’t you tell me last night?” she asked.  
“Didn’t want you worry, besides, I didn’t want to ruin the mood” he replied.  
Beth then blushed and her smile returned.  
“Oh yeah, good thinking” she said and giggled again.  
“It’s not till later though, so how bout we get these stitches taken out first” Max suggested.  
“Will you come with me?” she asked.  
“Yeah of course” said Max and Beth grinned happily.  
They both then got out of bed and got ready for the day. Beth wanted to wash, but didn’t want to go to all the trouble of a bath.  
“Got something that might help” said Max.  
He opened one of their packs and pulled out a roll of waterproof duct tape. He wrapped Beth’s cast with it and she gave him an impressed smile. Max indicated for her to use the shower first, but she grinned at him with a teasing smile and took his hand  
“How bout we shower together, you know save on water” she suggested.  
Max just grinned and Beth pulled him into the bathroom. Max turned on the shower, they both undressed and when the water was at a perfect temperature they stepped into the shower.  
“Mmm, I could really get used to this” said Beth as the water cascaded over her body.  
“Yeah, pretty awesome huh?” said Max and she grinned.  
They showered quickly, not wanting to waste too much hot water and then towelled each other off.  
Once dried, they got dressed and headed downstairs. As they walked down the stairs, Max and Beth could hear the house was alive with movement and Max guessed most of the group was there for breakfast again. Abraham was standing by the door to the lounge room and he nodded in greeting at them.  
“Morning” said Beth brightly  
“Good morning little lady, ” said Abraham with a smile.  
“Slept here again?” Max asked as he looked into the lounge room, seeing some of the group packing up their sleep gear.  
“Yeah, Rick thinks it's still for the best” and Abraham and Max just shook his head.  
“And what do you think?” he asked.  
Abe paused for a moment, looked around and then turned his gaze back to Max.  
“I think I would like to sleep in a real bed tonight” said Abe quietly.  
Max nodded and then the three of them walked into the kitchen. Carol, Karen and Maggie were already sorting out breakfast, placing cereal boxes and bowls and spoons on the kitchen benches.  
“Well morning you two, sleep well?” asked Maggie.  
“Yeah not bad” said Max.  
“Hmm, I bet”said Carol.  
Max just grinned and he saw Beth blush. She and Max took a seat on the stools lined up against one of the benches and Beth picked up a cereal box.  
“No eggs today?” asked Beth.  
“No, we ate them all yesterday ” said Carol.  
“Oh ok” said Beth  
“But we still have milk and cereal” said Maggie  
Max and Beth poured themselves some cereal and began to eat.  
“So I heard you have run duty today” said Maggie to Max.  
“Yeah its going to be interesting to find out how go about getting supplies here” said Max.  
“And what are you going to do today Beth?” Maggie asked Beth.  
“Um, I don’t know, hang out here I guess, but I’m going to get these out first” said Beth, touching her cuts.  
“Good idea, need some company?” Maggie  
“Thanks, but Max is coming with me” said Beth and Maggie nodded, not offended in the slightest.  
When breakfast was done with, Max looked at his watch, threw Beth a look and she nodded. The two of them left the house and began to walk to the house that the Alexandrian’s had converted into the community’s medical clinic. They saw Aaron and Eric sitting on their front porch and Beth waved at them.  
“Morning” said Eric as he and Aaron waved back.  
“Hey guys” said Aaron.  
“Morning walk?” asked Eric.  
“Actually, we were headed to get Beth’s stitches out” said Max.  
Max saw Aaron and Eric exchange looks and then Aaron glanced at his watch.  
“Oh, well Pete’s probably not at the clinic yet, but maybe you can try him at his house” said Aaron.  
Max looked at his watch again as well, it was early, but not too early and decided to ask for directions to Pete's house anyway.  
Aaron then gave them directions and after thanking Aaron and Eric, Max and Beth continued on. They quickly found the house Aaron had described and Max knocked on the door. There was a brief moment and Jessie opened the door.  
“Oh good morning” she said.  
She looked tired, but gave them both a bright smile.  
“Sorry if it’s too early, just thought we would take up Pete’s offer to remove Beth’s stitches” said Max.  
“Oh no worries, of course, come in” said Jessie  
She opened the door wider and Max and Beth stepped inside. Jessie led them into the lounge room and invited them to sit.  
“I’ll go get Pete” she said.  
She walked off and young boy ran into the room. Max had seen the boy at the party the night before, but neither he nor Beth had any interaction with him.  
“Hi, who are you?” asked the boy  
“Hi, I’m Beth and this is Max” said Beth.  
“I’m Sam, what happened to your face?” asked Sam.  
Beth’s smile disappeared and Max threw the kid a scowl. He was about to say something but Jessie returned and gave her son a frown.  
“Sam, go back to your breakfast” she scolded.  
The boy scurried from the room and Jessie gave Max and Beth an apologetic look.  
“Sorry about that, Pete’s just coming now” said Jessie.  
Pete then came into the room, looking annoyed and Max guessed also hungover. His attitude and behaviour was completely different from the night before and it got Max’s guard up.  
“Not exactly office hours” said Pete gruffly.  
“Yeah sorry mate, we just wanted to get this over and down with” said Max calmly.  
Pete just grunted in response and Max threw him a glare.  
“Look, we can do this later if there is a problem” said Max, starting to get annoyed.  
“No, I guess you're here now, ” said Pete and Beth threw Max an uneasy glance  
Pete retrieved a red medical bag from a cupboard and placed it on the coffee table. He pulled a pair of tweezers, some long medical scissors and some antiseptic wipes from the bag and lay them on the table.  
“Ok I need to sterilize your cuts first” said Pete.  
Beth glanced at Max again and then nodded in permission. Pete ripped open one of the antiseptic wipes and then swabbed Beth’s cuts with it. He tossed the wipes aside and then picked up a pair of tweezers and some long medical scissors.  
“Ok hold still” said Pete to Beth.  
He began to remove Beth’s stitches and Max watched him intently. Beth winced slightly in pain as Pete worked and Max held her hand in support. Max knew getting stitches removed was an unpleasant experience and it was no different for Beth.  
Despite Pete attitude, he was a half decent doctor and removed Beth’s stitches quickly and cleanly.  
“Ok, keep them clean and if they start bleeding, come see me again” said Pete.  
With that, Pete packed up his things and then left the room. Max and Beth stood up to leave and Jessie gave them another apologetic look  
“Sorry about Pete, he’s not really a morning person” she said.  
Max could sense from her tone and expression that this happened a lot and the good doctor wasn’t exactly an upstanding member of the community. Max and Beth then thanked Jessie and left the house. When they were on the street, Beth gave Max a concerned look.  
“So that was a bit intense” she said.  
“Yeah that guy was a dickhead” said Max angrily.  
“What do you think his problem was?, he seemed ok last night” asked Beth.  
“Don’t know Beth, but the guy obviously has issues” he answered and Beth nodded.  
Max then reached out to cup her chin and turned her head so he could examine the Pete’s work.  
“They hurt?” he asked.  
“They sting a little” she admitted.  
“Wanna go back to the house?” Max suggested.  
“No I’m fine, It's such a nice day already, lets just walk around for a bit” said Beth in reply  
Max nodded and Beth slipped her hand into his. They began to walk around Alexandria and soon came to the tiny community farm.  
An older woman with greying hair was walking around, throwing food to the chickens as they ran around her feet. The woman smiled and waved at Max and Beth as the came up to the fence  
“Hi there I’m Sally” said the woman  
She held her hand over the fence and Beth and Max shook it in turn.  
“I’m Max, this is Beth” said Max.  
“Nice to meet you” said Sally.  
“So you look after the animals?” Beth asked.  
“I was one of the county’s vets back before everything happened, I had a small clinic on my property not far from Alexandria, I refused to leave during the outbreak and when the army found me they brought me and the animals here” explained Sally.  
“My dad was a vet” said Beth.  
She exchanged a quick look with Max, but didn’t say anything. Sally must have sensed the sadness in Beth voice and gave her soft look.  
“I’m sorry” said Sally gently,  
“It's ok” said Beth and Max gave her a reassuring look.  
Sally needed to get back to feeding the chickens so Max and Beth left her to her job. They returned back to the house and found it now empty.  
They grabbed a drink of water and sat on the hanging couch out on the front porch, just enjoying the peace and quiet.  
Glenn, Tara and Noah soon came back to the houses and Max guessed it was time to report for run duty.  
“Just ran into Deanna, she said we should meet up with her son at the armoury” said Glenn, confirming Max’s guess.  
“Yeah, no worries” said Max.  
Beth gave Max a worried look, but didn’t say anything and he went inside to grab his knife from the bedroom. He considered taking one of the pistols but decided against it, and just grabbed his combat knife from the bedside table. Max met Glenn and the others back down stairs and Beth gave him another worried look.  
“Stay safe” she asked.  
“Always do” he said in reply.  
Max, Glenn, Tara and Noah then walked to the armoury. As they reached it, two men walked out, carrying weapons. One of them, Max recognised as the one who had opened the gate when they had arrived, but he hadn’t met the other one.  
“Glenn, Tara, Noah and Max right?” said the one Max didn’t recognise.  
Everyone nodded as he pointed to them and he then smiled.  
“Nice to meet you, I'm Aiden, you met Nicholas, pulling gate duty” said Aiden.  
“Hey” said Nicholas.  
“You're Deanna's son?” asked Glenn.  
“That's right, so I hear you got experience making supply runs” said Aiden.  
“Yeah, you could say that” said Max.  
“We saw your supply stores, you guys seem to do pretty well”said Glenn  
“Yeah we have actually” said Adian.  
The guy was coming off a little too smug for Max’s liking and he exchanged a look with Glenn.  
“So mum tells me you're former military?” Aiden then asked Max  
“Yeah, SAS” said Max.  
The smugness in Aiden’s expression then was replaced with surprise.  
“Really?” he asked.  
“Yeah, really” Max replied dead-panned.  
“I’ve had some military training before this myself, ROTC” said Aden, his smugness returned.  
Max just nodded, but was in no way impressed by this and could already sense Aiden had very little combat experience, if any at all.  
“Ok so how we get to it?, show you the ropes” he suggested.  
“We're doing a run today?” asked Tara.  
“Just a dry run, show you the terrain outside the walls, see how you do” said Adian.  
“What about weapons?” asked Glenn before Max could.  
“Oh, yeah, we pulled out some sweet-ass biscuits for today” said Aden.  
Max just raised an eyebrow and stared as Aiden and Nicholas began to hand out some pistols. Max took his offered weapon, checked it was in working condition and then tucked it into his pants. He then exchanged another look with Glenn and saw he looked just as concerned.  
They then headed off and walked down to the main gate. Nicholas slid it open and they all walked through. They began to make their way away from the community and then out into the woods. Max kept a close eye out and Aiden as he began to explain how they did things.  
“We've been increasing our radius mile by mile, spreading in a semicircle around the town” he explained.  
“We've made it fifty three miles out so far” said Nicholas.  
“We break into two groups when we step outside our vehicle, If shit hits the fan, we fire a flare, one group gets the other” explained Aiden.  
“Good system” said Noah  
“It is” said Aiden with  
He gave them another smug smile and they continued on walking.  
“Still, you're standing here because we lost four people last month” said Aiden.  
“What happened?” Max asked.  
“We were on a run, roamers came out, they didn't follow the system” said Aiden  
“They were good people” said Nicholas  
“They were but they were just scared” said Aiden.  
Aiden looked back at them and gave them a serious look.  
“Look, I can be a hard-ass and I know I'm a douchebag, but someone's got to call the shots around here and that someone is me, so if you're on this crew, you do exactly as I say” Aiden  
Max just snorted at this and Aiden turned to look at him.  
“You have a problem with that?” he asked.  
“Nah mate, you’re in charge, just like you said” Max replied, but stared Aiden down.  
“Sorry you lost your people” said Tara, breaking the tension.  
“Yeah, we got ours” said Aiden and both he and Nicholas grinned.  
“Managed to snag one of the deadheads that took them down, strung it up there” said Nicholas, pointing  
Max frowned at this and he wasn’t the only one that found it troublesome, Glenn, Tara and Noah all had concerned looks on their faces  
“What? Why?” asked Glenn.  
“We have a little pre-game ritual to get our heads on straight” explained Nicholas.  
“Remind us what we're up against” said Aiden.  
They came to a clearing and Max saw a bloody chain hanging from a tree branch.  
“Son of a bitch!, help me find it” said Aiden angrily,  
He put down his rifle and began untying the chain while looking around.  
“Blood's still wet, it's nearby” said Nicholas.  
Nicholas let out a loud whistle and Max shushed him.  
“Hey it's gone” said Glenn.  
“It took down one of our friends, it's nearby, we're not letting it go” snapped Aiden loudly.  
“Who gives a shit mate, it's a fucking walker” said Max.  
Suddenly the walker Aiden and Nicholas had chained up appeared, grabbing at Aiden. Max and the others drew their pistols, but Aiden and Nicholas began herding the walker.  
“Hey, over here, come on” yelled Nicholas as Aiden came behind it, attempting to wrap the chain around its arms.  
Max stepped closer, pistol at the ready to end it, but Nicholas threw his hand out.  
“No, don’t shoot it” he yelled.  
”The rest of you, back off” shouted Aiden.  
They continued to struggle with the walker, but it got free from Aiden’s grasp and knocked Nicholas to the ground. Tara rushed in to stab it, but the walker grabbed her. She struggled with as Aiden and Nicholas tried to contain it, but when Max had a clear shot, he ended it.  
What the hell?” yelled Aiden as the walker fell to the ground.  
“Yeah, what the hell?” asked Tara.  
“You almost got her killed” yelled Glenn.  
Aiden walked over to Max and glared angrily at him as they stood inches apart.  
“You need to step away mate, right now” said Max, his voice low and threatening.  
“I told you all to stay back!, I told you to listen to every damn thing I said, I told you that” yelled Aiden.  
He was shaking and the last part of his rant came out like a pathetic plea. Max just shook his head in frustration and then just walked away.  
“Come on other walkers could have heard the noise” he said to Noah, Glenn and Tara.  
They began to walk back to the gate and Max couldn’t care less if Aiden and Nicholas were following.  
Max was fucking livid now and if the stunt with the walker was an indication of how they did things at Alexandria then he wasn’t having any part of it. Max, Noah, Tara and Glenn stormed through the gate as it was opened and Aiden and Nicholas came in hot on their tails.  
“You four need new gigs, you're not ready for runs yet” said Aiden as he caught up to them.  
“Yeah mate, I’m pretty sure you got that fucking backwards” said Max angrily.  
Aiden got in front of them and forced them to stop.  
“Hey look, we got a way of doing things around here” said Aiden.  
“You tie up walkers” yelled Glenn.  
“It killed our friends” shouted Aiden, like that was an acceptable defence.  
Other people had gathered now, drawn by the commotion and raised voices and Max spotted Daryl cautiously moving closer.  
“Look, I'm not having this conversation, you obey my orders out there, you got that” said Aiden.  
“Nah mate, I don’t got that, I’m guessing your last crew died because of your orders, am I right?” snapped Max.  
“Say that again” said Aiden.  
Max just stared Aiden down as he glared angrily at him, not phased one bit.  
“Come on tough guy say that again” said Aiden.  
Aiden attempted to shove Max but failed to move him an inch, his hand just rebounding off Max’s chest.  
“Back off, Aiden” warned Tara  
“Come on, man” pleaded Noah.  
Aiden tried to shove Max again, but this time Max grabbed Aiden’s hand. He twisted it hard and Aiden yelped in pain, dropping to his knees. Nicholas fumbled with his rifle and then shoved it in Max’s face.  
“Let him go arsehole” warned Nicholas and Max just snorted.  
Max let Aiden go, but then swiftly snatched the rifle from Nicholas’s hands. Nicholas stumbled backwards with terror in his eyes and Max tossed the rifle to Glenn.  
“What’s going on here?” yelled a voice  
Max turned to see Deanna, Rick and Michonne had now arrived, all with concerned looks on their faces. Aiden stood up, rubbed his wrist and glared at Max.  
“I asked you what’s happening here” demanded Deanna.  
“This guy's got a problem with the way we do things, why did you let these people in?” said Aiden.  
“Because we actually know what we're doing out there you dumb cunt” said Max.  
Aiden spun and threw a punch. Max easily blocked it and delivered a devastating blow of his own to Aiden’s chest. He went crashing to the ground and Nicholas rushed in a foolish attempt to help. He was tackled to the ground by Daryl though, who proceeded to choke him.  
“That's enough!, I said that is enough” yelled Deanna.  
Rick whispered something in Daryl’s ear and he let Nicholas go. Nicholas got to his feet, gasping and looking extremely terrified.  
“I want everyone to hear me, okay?, Rick and his people are part of this community now in all ways as equals, understood?” said Deanna loudly, undressing the crowd now gathered around the gate.  
“Understood?” she asked, directly talking to Aiden  
“Yeah, understood” he said begrudgingly.  
“Alright, all of you, turn in your weapons, then you two come talk to me” said Deanna, pointing at Max and Aiden.  
Max nodded and handed over his pistol and knife to Michonne. Deanna spoke to Rick for a moment and then indicated for Max and Aiden to follow her. The three of them made the short walk to the Monroe household and then into Deanna office.  
“So tell me exactly what the problem is here” Deanna demanded as they sat down.  
“Mum these people are all wrong and..” Aiden began, but Max cut him off.  
“Look, Deanna no offence, but your son is a fucking idiot and so is his friend, look I get it, we are new but I gotta be honest, if this is how things are run here, with him in charge of your run crew then I gonna have to opt out of the job” said Max angrily.  
Max instantly wished he hadn’t snapped like that and thought he had crossed a line, but it needed to be said. Deanna just sat back and crossed her arms.  
“Mum, why are we even listening to this guy?, he is obviously has no respect” said Aiden.  
“Aiden hush, I value his input and want to hear what he has to say” said Deanna  
“Mum, you can’t be serious” said Aiden angrily.  
“Go wait outside I’ll deal with you later!” snapped Deanna  
Aiden looked shocked for a second, but then shook his head and stormed out of the room.  
“Look Deanna I didn’t mean to insult..” Max began, but Deanna held up her hand.  
“No need to apologise Max” she said.  
Max nodded and then Deanna sat forward.  
“So Max, how can we improve our supply runs?” she asked.  
“I’m going to be very blunt Deanna, Aiden isn’t cut out to lead anyone, nor is Nicholas and that business with the chained up walker isn’t a good thing, in fact it's dangerous and irresponsible, not to mention down right insane” said Max.  
“Yes I’ve talked to Aiden about that” said Deanna.  
“Well yeah ok, look Deanna if you really want to improve then then they shouldn’t be in charge” said Max firmly.  
“I can’t just put you in charge Max” said Deanna with a frown.  
“I’m not saying you should, but if those two are going to be running things, then I’m going to have request another job, I’ve been part of too many disastrous missions in my career that failed because the person in charge was not qualified for the job and I can’t be part of something like that again” said Max.  
Deanna sat back on the couch and looked thoughtful for a moment. She then sat back forward and gave Max a meaningful look  
“Ok Max, leave it with me, you’ve given me a lot to think about” she the said.  
Max nodded, stood up and Deanna led him to the front door. She opened the door, but stopped him before he walked through.  
“Oh, and one last thing, thanks for knocking him on his arse” she said.  
Deanna gave him a small smile and Max just nodded in response. He then left the Monroe’s house and walked to the house. He didn’t run into anyone on the way which suited Max just fine. He reached the house and as he was about to walk up the front steps, the front door flung open and Beth came out rushing out to him.  
“Are you ok?” she asked frantically.  
“Yeah I’m all good” he said assured.  
Beth nodded, but still looked concerned. She took his hand and led him inside to where Rick and some of the others were waiting, most likely wanting to know what had happened with Deanna.  
“What did Deanna say?” asked Rick.  
“Rick, not now” said Beth angrily.  
“Nah it’s ok” said Max, giving Beth a reassuring look.  
Max recounted what had happened in Deanna’s office and they listened intently until he was done.  
“So think she’ll listen?” asked Rick.  
“No idea but I hope she does” said Max.  
Rick and the others seemed satisfied with this and they all went back to what they had been doing before. Max sat down and Beth made him something to eat.  
“Do they really tie up walkers to get their revenge?” Beth asked in disbelief as Max began to eat.  
“Yeah, kinda fucked up when you think about” said Max.  
The worried expression on Beth’s face deepened and Max knew he had to calm her fears.  
“Hey, it's ok, everything is gonna be fine Beth”  
Her face softened and she nodded. Max finished his food and Beth asked what he wanted to do next.  
“Well, I’ve had a bit of a stressful day so how bout we watch a movie or something?” Max suggested.  
Beth’s eyes lit up and then a brilliant smile spread across her face.  
“Yeah, ok” she said excitedly.  
She leapt up from the couch, opened the dvd cabinet and then looked back at Max.  
“What shall we watch?” she asked.  
“You pick, I’m easy” he replied.  
“What’s going on?” asked Maggie as she came into the room.  
“We’re going to watch a movie, wanna join us?” said Beth.  
Maggie raised an eyebrow, but then smiled.  
“What are you going to watch?” asked Maggie.  
“Don’t know” said Beth.  
Max just sat back in the couch and just watched Beth and Maggie as they began to look over the movies. The two sisters argued over several titles before settling on a romantic comedy. Maggie put the movie on and Beth snuggled into Max on the couch. It was a little strange to watch a movie after so long, but Max was more the grateful for the distraction from the day’s events.  
The rest of the day went by without any more problems, but when it got dark and the group gathered for dinner, Max knew he had to say something about the group sleeping in the same house again.  
After the dinner was served and eaten, Max decided to talk to Rick. He found him talking with Carol and Daryl on the front porch and all three stopped as Max approached. Rick gave Max a glare and Max realised he had just interrupted something.  
“What’s going on?” Max asked.  
“We were just discussing that we probably don’t need to stay in the same house any more” said Rick.  
Max knew Rick was telling the truth, but not the entire truth, he could feel the tension radiating off all three of them and knew there was more to it.  
“Yeah, I was just coming to speak to you about that” said Max.  
“Well, we think it's safe for the group the split up” said Rick.  
Max saw the three of them exchange looks and then Rick and Carol walked back inside. Daryl followed them, but gave Max a sheepish look as he passed. Max grabbed Daryl’s arm and stopped him.  
“What’s going on?” Max asked.  
“Nothin” said Daryl.  
“Yeah?, nothing, huh?, there nothing I should be concerned about?” asked Max.  
“Nah man, nothin” said Daryl.  
Max wasn’t exactly convinced, but he trusted Daryl, so let his arm go. Daryl continued on inside and left Max alone on the porch. Before he could dwell more on the matter, the door opened and Beth came out.  
“Hey there you are” she said.  
“Yeah sorry, were you looking for me?” he asked.  
“Maybe” she said.  
She looked beautiful in the moonlight and the happy smile on her face only made her more so.  
“You ok?” she then asked, seeing his distracted look.  
“Yeah, all good” he lied, knowing it was probably best not to worry her.  
Beth sat down on the porch’s hanging couch and patted the space next her her. Max settled on the couch and Beth snuggled into him.  
“Its such a beautiful night” said Beth.  
“Sure is” said Max in agreement.  
Beth let out a contented sigh and Max smiled down at her.  
“Happy there miss Greene?” he asked.  
“Yeah” she answered.  
Max was still a little concerned about Rick but he began to relax and put his concerns completely out of his mind, at least for the moment.  
Deanna then appeared out of the darkness and gave Max and Beth a warm smile as she came up the steps. Max felt Beth tense up beside him and he himself wondered what Deanna had come to talk about  
“Well hello there” said Deanna.  
“Evening” said Max.  
“Do you mind if I borrow him for a moment?” Deanna then asked Beth.  
Beth flashed Max a look and started to get up, but Max stopped her.  
“I keep nothing from her” he said to Deanna.  
Deanna nodded and smiled, but then a more serious look appeared on her face.  
“So I’ve discussed the matter of today’s incident at length with my husband and we both realise that you are the most qualified to lead the run group” said Deanna  
Max sat up at this and he felt Beth’s grip tighten in his hand.  
“You sure about this?” Max asked.  
”Well, I am a little concerned about putting another one of your group in a position of authority, but you made some excellent points today and we do need people who know what they are doing out there” she said.  
“And Aiden?” Max asked.  
“He won’t like it, but he’ll have to accept my decision” replied Deanna firmly.  
With that, Deanna got up and left. Max turned to Beth and she gave him an uneasy smile.  
“So you’re in charge of runs again” she said.  
“Yeah, but it will be nothing different than back at the prison” he assured.  
“Yeah, I suppose that’s true, ” she said.  
She gave him a small smile and Max could tell she was convinced. Max and Beth sat out on the porch looking out into the darkness just happy in each others company until it grew late. The group then decided to turn in for the night and began to split up between the houses to sleep. Max and Beth returned back inside and found Maggie, Glenn, Tara and Noah sitting in the lounge room.  
Max was satisfied with the choice of housemates and he could tell Beth was as well. Noah suggested a game of cards before bed and everyone joined in. Beth smiled happily as they played and Max couldn't help but smile as well. Despite what had happened that day and what he had walked into just before, Max had a good feeling and it was going to be interesting to find out what the next few days had in store for them…


	3. Chapter 3

Beth grinned happily down at Judith as she bounced the girl gently in her lap. The two were sitting out on the front porch, enjoying the warm morning sun and Judith was making happy gurgling noises as she waved the stuffed toy dog in her hand about.  
Beth was minding Judith while Rick was busy attending his duties as the new sheriff of Alexandria. She didn’t mind babysitting Judith again, it gave her something to do as Deanna still hadn’t given her a job yet. Most of the group had been given jobs now in the short time since the group had arrived at Alexandria and Beth was just happy to contribute any way she could. Judith made another little cooing noise, pulling Beth from her thoughts.  
“Happy there Judith?” Beth asked.  
Judith looked up at her with a big grin and waved the dog excitedly.  
“Yes, you are, aren’t you cutie?” said Beth, giving her a grin back.  
Beth was amazed at how big the girl had grown, Judith had come a long way from that tiny little thing that Beth had taken care of in the first days of the prison and she was looking like her mother every day.  
The sound of clanging metal and a loud curse suddenly rang out, startling them both of them. Beth jerked her head up and looked over to where Max was working on the Bushmaster, which was currently parked in front of the house. Beth saw him looking down into the open engine with an angry look on his face.  
“Everything ok Max?” Beth called out.  
Max, glanced over at her and nodded before jumping down onto the driveway.  
“Yeah, all good, just dropped my spanner” he said, reaching under the vehicle for the fallen tool.  
Max was working on the vehicle to ensure it was ready for the next run and Beth was a little worried about him going outside the walls again. She had been deeply concerned when Noah, Tara and Glenn had told her what had happened during the almost disastrous first run with the chained up walker and had been pleased when Deanna decided to put Max in charge of the run team.  
“He’ll be ok” said Beth out loud to herself.  
Judith looked up at her and Beth grinned at her again.  
“And you have no idea what I’m saying, do you sweetie?” she asked.  
Beth tickled Judith’s stomach and the girl burst into giggles. Beth laughed with her and continued to grin at her.  
“You hungry Judith?” Beth then asked.  
Judith put the stuffed dog to her mouth and Beth laughed again.  
“I’ll take that as a yes” she said.  
Beth stood up and started to carry Judith next door to get some of Judith’s food. She was about to walk down the steps of the house when Rick appeared, coming towards them. Judith gurgled happily as she saw him and Beth saw a smile on Rick’s face.  
“She behave herself?” asked Rick as he took Judith from Beth.  
“Of course she did” said Beth.  
“She need feeding?” Rick then asked.  
“Yeah, I was just about to” said Beth.  
“No worries, I got it” said Rick  
Beth nodded and Rick made his way inside with his daughter. Beth wasn’t sure what to do with herself now and decided to see if Max needed a hand. As she reached the Bushmaster though, Max jumped down to join her, wiping his hands with a cloth.  
“Need some help?” she asked.  
Max tossed the cloth down and gave her an appraising look.  
“Know your way around an engine miss Greene?” he asked.  
Beth scrunched her nose and shook her head.  
“No, not really, ” she said and Max laughed.  
“No?, even growing up on a farm?” he asked.  
“Didn’t really interest me, it was more my brothers thing” said Beth.  
Max nodded and glanced at the still open hood of the Bushmaster.  
“Well unfortunately I’m all done for now, I just had to change the battery and top up the oil, so we’ll have to reschedule the mechanic lessons for another time ” he said.  
“Ok” said Beth.  
Beth more than liked the idea of Max teaching her, enjoying the thought of Max teaching her something again and began to think back to the personal training sessions back at the prison.  
“Where did you go just now?” Max asked and Beth saw him looking at her with a grin and an inquisitive look.  
“Oh, just thinking about when we use to train together” she answered.  
“You wanna pick up your training again?” he asked.  
“I don’t know, maybe?” she said and Max gave her a thoughtful look.  
“Well, how about this?, when this is off and nicely healed, we do just that” he suggested, taking her cast into his hand.  
“Yeah?” Beth asked and Max nodded.  
“Yeah, can’t have you getting rusty” he reasoned.  
“No, I guess we can’t” said Beth teasingly.  
Beth couldn’t keep the excitement off her face and gave Max a huge grin.  
“So do you have anything else you have to do now?” she asked hopefully.  
“Unfortunately yeah, I need to go talk to Deanna about the next run” he said and Beth’s face dropped in disappointment.  
Even though she knew that Max going on another run was inevitable, working on the Bushmaster was clear evidence of that, but Beth wished it would be much later before he had to go. Max saw the look on her face and gave her a reassuring look.  
“Worried about me?” he asked gently.  
“That obvious?” Beth asked.  
“I’d be surprised if you weren’t” he said.  
"Just a little concerned, especially after what happened the other day” said Beth.  
“Nothing’s gonna happen, I’m going to make sure of that” said Max.  
Beth nodded, believing him and Max gave her another reassuring look. He reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Beth loved it when he did that and smiled lovingly at him.  
“Ok I’m going to talk with Deanna, shouldn’t be too long” said Max.  
Beth nodded and Max walked off towards the Monroe household. Beth walked back inside their house and found Noah looking through the kitchen cupboards.  
“What are you looking for?” Beth asked  
“Don’t know really, feel like a snack” said Noah.  
“Maybe Carol has baked some more cookies” suggested Beth.  
Noah smiled, thanked Beth and went to go find out. The thought of Carol baking gave Beth an idea and she smiled to herself as a plan formed in her head.  
She left the house and began to make her way to the community pantry. It was a beautiful sunny day and many of the Alexandrian’s were out and about. Beth smiled warmly as she passed them, most smiled and waved, but others regarded her with suspicion. Beth was a little put off by this, but she couldn’t blame them, she was effectively still a stranger to them. Despite this, Beth wasn’t deterred from her plan and continued on.  
As she passed the park in the middle of the community, she saw four teen girls about her age sitting in the little wooden gazebo, talking amongst themselves. One of the girls noticed her and waved her over.  
“Hey, you’re Beth right?” she asked.  
“Yeah” said Beth, returning the smile.  
“I’m Ava and this is Abigail, Chloe and Holly” said the girl.  
Beth smiled at the girls in turn and she noticed them all flick their eyes over her cuts and her cast. Her smile dimmed in response, feeling a little uncomfortable, but didn’t let it affect her too much.  
The girls invited her to sit down and Beth accepted, taking a seat on the wooden bench.  
“So how are you finding Alexandria?” asked Ava.  
“Yeah, it’s a little overwhelming to be honest, but we are all settling in alright so far” said Beth.  
“I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you out there” said Holly and Beth just nodded  
“So um is it true that you're involved with that Australian guy?” Chloe asked.  
She had a thick Irish accent and Beth guessed she must be related to the Irish woman she had met at Deanna’s party. Beth didn't respond to her question for a moment, but all three girls had expectant looks waiting for her answer and she guessed didn’t need to lie.  
“Yeah, I am, " she said,  
“That’s so cool, ” said Abigail and Beth just nodded in response.  
“Is it true you lived at a prison?”  
“Where were when it all began?”  
“Have you had to kill any of those things?”  
Their questions came hard and fast and Beth didn’t know which one to answer first.  
“Girls!, settle down” said Ava in a scolding tone.  
Beth gave Ava a thankful glance and the other girls gave Beth apologetic looks.  
“Sorry Beth, it’s been a long time since we had anyone new here, we have no idea what it’s like out there” said Holly.  
“You haven’t been outside the walls?” asked Beth.  
“No, never, not since we came here” said Ava.  
“So what’s it like out there?” asked Chloe, repeating her question.  
Beth didn’t know where to begin and was about to answer when she saw Daryl walk by with his crossbow over his shoulder. Beth gave the man a smile and she got a nod from Daryl in return.  
“You going on a hunt?” she asked.  
“Yeah” he said curtly.  
He gave her another nod and continued on towards the main gate. Beth then noticed the girls all had smitten grins and were staring at Daryl as he walked away.  
“Oh my god did you see his arms?” said Ava in awe.  
“How could I not?” said Holly.  
Beth didn’t know what to say, she wasn’t blind, she knew Daryl was attractive, but she had never really seen him in that light.  
“So um is he like single?” asked Ava.  
The question stumped Beth, Daryl and Carol had a close relationship, but Beth had never noticed anything more than friendship and if she was honest, she wasn’t really sure what Daryl’s deal was.  
“Oh um yeah he is” Beth then answered.  
The girls all exchanged smiles and giggled again. Beth didn’t what to make of it all, it was strange to be part of the conversation, it had been so long since she had hung out with girls her age and talked about boys.  
The girl seemed to want to ask more questions, but a middle aged woman then came out from one of the houses by the park and walked over to the gazebo.  
“Girls, don’t you have chores to do?” asked the woman  
“Sorry mum” said Ava.  
“Well hello dear, you must be one of our new arrivals” said the woman, addressing Beth.  
“This is Beth mum” said Ava.  
“Nice to meet you” said Beth.  
Ava’s mum gave her another warm smile and Beth returned it. The girls then got up to leave, but Ava hung back as the other girls began to walk off.  
“Listen the girls and I and some others are meeting up later this afternoon, you should totally join us” Ava whispered.  
Beth was hesitant to say yes, put on the spot, but it would be good to continue to hang out with people her age some more and she nodded.  
“Yeah, ok, sounds good” she said to Ava.  
“Cool, I’ll pick you up later” said Ava, giving Beth a grin.  
Ava then hurried after her mother and the other girls, leaving Beth alone. Beth sat in the gazebo for a moment and then remembered why she had come out here in the first place.  
She began making her way to the community pantry and found the large garage where the community stored their food wide open. Beth saw Jessie inside, looking over the shelves of boxes and cans with a clipboard in her hand and making notes. She noticed Beth and gave her a small but tired smile.  
“Morning" said Jessie.  
“Hey, ” said Beth politely.  
Jessie looked tired and distracted and Beth noticed a dark bruise peeking out from the woman’s sleeve.  
“You need anything from the pantry?” Jessie asked.  
“Yeah, um do have any cupcake mix?” Beth asked in reply.  
“You know what?, we actually do” said Jessie.  
She pulled a box off the shelf and handed it to Beth.  
"Will this do?" Jessie asked.  
Beth looked at the box of chocolate cupcake mix and nodded.  
“Yeah perfect” she said with a smile.  
Jessie then collected a couple of eggs and a small container of milk as well, placing them in a small basket for Beth.  
“Thanks for this” said Beth.  
“No worries at all” said Jessie.  
Beth left Jessie to continue on with her work and made her way back to the house. Max wasn't back yet so Beth walked into the kitchen to get started, hoping she might be able to surprise him with the freshly baked treats.  
Beth took everything from the basket and placed them on the bench. She then began pulling out everything she needed from the drawers and cupboards and set about making her cupcakes.  
She was about to open the cupcake mix box when suddenly she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and she jumped in surprise. Max grinned cheekily down at her as she twisted in his hold and Beth punched him in the arm.  
“Max, you scared me” she said, scolding him.  
“Sorry, couldn’t resist” he said with a mischievous grin.  
Beth rolled her eyes, but then smiled and laughed.  
“So what are you making?” Max asked, looking around the kitchen.  
“Cupcakes” she said.  
“Oh nice” he said with a grin.  
“So how did it go with Deanna?” Beth then asked him.  
“Good, going to check out some places that Deanna thinks might have something of value tomorrow” he said.  
“Oh ok” said Beth.  
“How bout you?, anything interesting happen” he asked and Beth nodded.  
“Funny you should ask, I got invited to hang out this afternoon” Beth said.  
“No shit, really?” Max asked and Beth told him about the meeting with Ava and the girls.  
“Well aren’t you popular” Max said with a grin.  
“Hmm I suppose I am” said Beth teasingly.  
“So cupcakes huh?, need a hand?” Max then asked, looking at all ingredients on the bench.  
“You know how to make cupcakes Max?” Beth asked cheekily, echoing the conversation from before.  
“Not a clue” he replied and Beth giggled.  
“Well then I guess I’ll have to teach you” she suggested.  
“Guess so” said Max.  
Beth giggled again and instructed him to open up the cupcake ingredients. Beth and Max then mixed the cupcake mix, arranged the paper cups and then poured the mix in. Beth couldn’t help but smile as she watched Max do this and he shot her a look as he caught her.  
“What?” he asked.  
“Nothing, you just look kinda sexy doing that” she said with a grin.  
“Yeah?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.  
Beth nodded, giggled and Max just chuckled in response  
“Well maybe I need to cook more often then” he said.  
“Maybe you do” said Beth with another teasing grin.  
Beth then preheated the oven and placed the trays of cupcakes inside. As she closed the oven door, she saw Max dip his finger into the icing mix and Beth slapped his hand away.  
“Hey mister, hands off” she said with a grin.  
Max grinned back and licked the icing off his finger. Beth tasted some of the icing herself and smiled at the sweet chocolate taste. She couldn’t wait to eat more of it.  
The cupcakes baked quickly and Beth carefully pulled them from the oven. When they had cooled, they iced the cupcakes.  
“Damn they look good” said Max.  
“Yeah, they do, don’t they?” said Beth in agreement.  
“Bet they taste even better” he said.  
Beth just smiled and then turned her head as she heard voices and footsteps. Maggie and Glenn walked into the kitchen and Beth saw Maggie’s eyes light up as she saw the cupcakes.  
“Oh, they look amazing" said Maggie.  
Beth beamed at the praise and shot Max a smile.  
“Well, I can’t take all the credit, Max helped” said Beth  
“Oh really?” asked Maggie, shooting Max a grin.  
“Yeah, thinking of setting up a cake stall next, give Carol a run for her money” said Max dryly and Beth giggled  
“So you talk to Deanna?” Glenn then asked Max.  
Max threw a look at Beth and then nodded at Glenn. They walked outside to talk and Maggie helped Beth carefully place the little cakes in a container. They put them in the fridge, leaving some out for them to eat and put them on a plate. Beth offered one to Maggie, who took one with a smile.  
Beth and Maggie then joined Max and Glenn outside. Beth offered Glenn a cupcake and then sat down next to Max, handing him his.  
“Good?” asked Beth as Max bit into it and he nodded.  
“Damm good” he replied and Beth beamed.  
The four of them sat out on the porch talking until Mika, Lizzie and Carol, with Judith in her arms walked up to the house.  
“Hey girls, how was school?” Beth asked.  
Carol had taken the girls to school that morning, just another normal thing that the Alexandrians did. Both girls just shrugged at Beth’s question and she laughed.  
“That bad huh?, well how about you pick out a movie to watch and I’ll bring you a surprise?” Beth suggested.  
The girls smiled at this, nodded and then ran inside. Carol gave Beth a huge smile and then sat with Judith in the empty chair next to Maggie.  
“They didn’t like it, but they’ll get used to it” said Carol.  
“Guess it’s no different than back at the prison” said Maggie  
“Yes, but they have a real teacher this time and all the children here haven’t suffered even a quarter of what those girls have lived through” said Carol heavily.  
“Give them time and they’ll adapt, it will be good for them” said Maggie.  
Carol nodded and stood up, looking at Beth.  
“Do you mind looking after Judith again?, I've got to make lunches for some of the older people” she asked.  
“Of course” said Beth.  
She held out her arms and Carol handed Judith to her.  
“Well hello again little one” said Beth as she sat the girl in her lap.  
Carol thanked Beth and then walked off. Judith seemed very content in Beth’s lap and gurgled happily as she looked around at everyone.  
“She's getting bigger every day” said Maggie with a smile.  
“Yes she is isn’t she?" said Beth in agreement.  
The door then opened and Mika and Lizzie poked their heads out.  
“We picked a movie” said Mika.  
“Ok girls I’ll be right in” said Beth and the girls ducked back inside.  
“You know I’d never thought we ever be watching movies again” said Glenn.  
“Yeah, kinda weird right?” said Max and Glenn nodded in agreement.  
“Well, Judith, how does watching your first movie sound?” Beth asked Judith, who just grinned in response.  
Beth stood up and Max jumped up to open the door for her. Beth carried Judith inside and found the girls waiting. She placed Judith on the couch and quickly ducked into the kitchen, grabbing some of the cupcakes from the fridge.  
Lizzie and Mika’s eyes lit up and took the cakes from Beth with glee as she offered them to the girls. Beth settled into the couch and picked off a little piece of the cake.  
“You want to try some cupcake Judith?” asked Beth  
She fed Judith some of the cupcake, who made a delighted noise as she ate it.  
“Oh, you like that, don’t you?” Beth said with a grin and Lizzie and Mika both laughed.  
Lizzie then started the movie and Max, Maggie and Glenn then came inside. Max sat down next to Beth while Maggie and Glenn sat together in one of the large armchairs.  
“So what are we watching girls?” asked Max as he put his arm around Beth.  
“Finding Nemo” said Mika with a massive grin.  
“Oh love that movie” said Max.  
Everyone looked at him with surprise and even Beth gave him a curious smile.  
“What?, its a great movie, plus it’s set in Australia” he said and everyone laughed.  
A little way into the movie, Beth looked at Judith and saw the girl was enthralled by the colourful images on the screen. Beth grinned and nudged Max, who looked over. He saw Judith’s wide eyes and grinned too.  
“Think she likes it” whispered Max.  
Beth nodded in agreement and then snuggled closer into him.  
“So have you been to the Great Barrier Reef?” Beth whispered.  
“A couple of times actually” Max answered.  
“Is it just like this?” Beth asked.  
“Yeah, just minus the talking fish” said Max, giving her another grin.  
Beth rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully.  
“Oh, ha-ha” she said.  
Max just continued to grin at her and she giggled. Beth then caught Maggie looking at them and blushed as she winked. Beth gave her a little smile and Maggie grinned back.  
The front door then opened and Carl and Noah came into the lounge room. They saw the movie playing and joined the little group.  
When the movie was finished, Carol returned and collected the girls. Beth and Maggie then made lunch for everyone and then they all sat in the lounge room talking, mostly about what they had found about Alexandria so far. There was nothing concerning from what Beth could tell, the community was a perfect haven. But even the most idyllic communities could still hide dark secrets.  
Time slipped by and Beth glanced at Max’s watch and guessed she Ava would be by soon. She excused herself and made her way upstairs to shower and change. After showering, Beth picked out something nice to wear, wanting to make a good impression. She found it a little strange to think this way though, but shook the thought away and slipped into her clothes.  
Beth returned downstairs and found Max and the others now outside on the porch. Rick, Daryl and Karen were with them and everyone turned to look as she walked out.  
“Well someone looks nice” said Maggie.  
Beth blushed and caught Max’s eye, who obviously agreed as well.  
“So where are you off to?” asked Maggie.  
Before Beth could answer, she spotted Ava walking up the house. She climbed up the steps and gave everyone a bright smile.  
“Hey everyone, I’m Ava” she said.  
“Nice to meet you Ava” said Maggie  
“Ready to go?” Ava then asked Beth.  
“Yeah” said Beth  
Ava nodded and then gave Carl and Noah another smile.  
“Why don’t you two come as well? ” Ava then suggested.  
Carl looked at his dad and Rick nodded. Beth kissed Max on the cheek and then gave him a serious look.  
“Make sure nobody eats my cupcakes” she warned.  
“Of course” he said.  
“And that means you too” she warned, narrowing her eyes.  
“Yes ma’am” he promised.  
Beth grinned, satisfied with his answer and then followed after Ava, Noah and Carl as they headed away from the house.  
“So where are we going?” asked Noah.  
“You’ll see” said Ava cryptically, but gave him a teasing grin.  
They continued on walking and Ava led them to a half built house that was covered in plastic sheeting.  
“This is our little hangout” said Ava, pushing aside one of the plastic sheets.  
“They never finished building the house?” asked Noah.  
”No, which makes it perfect for us” said Ava with a grin.  
She led them down into the basement, which like the rest of the house was unfinished, but had been furnished with armchairs, couches and beanbags, most likely by Ava and her friends. It reminded her of a typical basement of any family home, she even saw a guitar leaning up against a couch which she noticed with interest. A TV was set up in the corner and two guys about Carl's age were crowded round it, playing a game on a gaming console. A girl the same age as the boys, reading a comic gave them a brief glance and then continued reading.  
“Guys, this is Carl, Noah and Beth” announced Ava.  
The boys stopped playing and turned around to look.  
“That’s Ron and Mikey” said Ava, introducing the boys.  
“Hey Carl” said one of them.  
“Oh, you've already met?” asked Ava.  
Carl joined the boys and one of them handed him a controller.  
“And that little ray of sunshine is Enid" said Ava, indicating the girl.  
Enid looked up from her comic again but didn’t say anything. Ava motioned Beth and Noah to sit down and they took a seat on a surprisingly comfy couch.  
“The others should be here soon" explained Ava and Beth nodded.  
“Nice place you got here” said Noah and Beth agreed.  
Ava then began to explain how she and the other teens had set the place up not long after they had arrived at Alexandria. She went on to explain how she and her family had been brought to the community and Beth was a little envious Ava hadn’t suffered through anything Beth and her group had to endure.  
Ava finished her story and then lay her eyes on Beth’s wrist.  
“That’s a beautiful bracelet Beth” Ava then said and Beth smiled.  
“Thanks, it was a gift from Max” said Beth.  
Ava reached out and before Beth could stop her, Ava saw the scar on Beth’s wrist that the bracelet was hiding. Ava’s eyes widened and Beth pulled her arm away like she had been burned, covering her wrist.  
“Oh god, I’m so sorry” said Ava.  
Beth didn’t say anything and could see Noah avoiding his eyes as well. Beth was embarrassed now and she could see Ava was even more so. The silence between the three of them was deafening and only grew stronger. Beth didn’t know what to say to end the awkwardness and was only saved by the sound of voices and heavy footsteps on the stairs.  
Ava turned and jumped up as two guys and Chloe, Abigail and Holly came down into the basement.  
“Bout time you guys got here” said Ava.  
The boys like the girls were around round Beth's age as well and they gave Beth and Noah warm grins. Beth was grateful for the distraction from her wrist and smiled politely back at them.  
“Hey there, Ava said we were going have company” said one of them, a tall dark haired guy.  
“This is Jonathan and Eli, guys this is Beth, Noah and Carl” said Ava, introducing everyone.  
Jonathan shook Beth’s hand and she noticed his smile was a little more than friendly.  
“Hey there, I’m Ava’s brother, the more prettier twin” he said jokingly.  
Beth didn’t know how to respond to this and was saved by Ava, who pushed her brother aside.  
“Sure you are pretty boy” said Ava.  
“So your boyfriend is that Australian guy right?” Jonathan than asked Beth.  
She was a little taken aback by his bluntness, it seemed to be the hot topic question everyone wanted the answer to.  
“Geeze Jonathan, she’s not here to answer your dumb questions” said Ava with a scowl.  
“I heard he kicked Adien and Nicholas’s arse’s” said Enid speaking up, looking over the top of her comic.  
Everyone stopped talking and Carl and the boys twisted in their seats. Beth glared at the girl who just casually stared back  
“They attacked him” said Beth, a little too defensively.  
Enid just shrugged and went back to her reading as everyone looked at each uncomfortably. Beth was starting to think this was a bad idea to come here.  
“Well, if you ask me, it’s about time someone did, Adien’s a dick and so is Nicholas” Ava then said loudly, breaking the silence.  
Beth smiled her thanks at Ava, but still was regretting taking up her offer to hang out. These people were so different and Beth didn’t know how she was going to fit in with them.  
“I always thought Nicholas was kinda creepy” said Abigail and then giggled.  
Her laugh filled the room and it was like a weight had been lifted as the tension in the room evaporated.  
“Probably because he has a thing for you” said Eli with a snort.  
"Oh my god, he does not” said Abigail in horror and pushed Eli.  
As Eli and the others laughed, Ava gave Beth yet another apologetic smile and then led her back to the couch.  
“Sorry about that, I promise we are all good people once you get to know us” said Ava gently.  
Beth nodded and looked around, but she still wasn’t completely convinced.  
“Ok, how about we welcome our new friends in style, what do you say guys?” Jonathan then announced.  
As Beth and everyone else looked at him expectantly, Jonathan pushed aside one of the couches and retrieved a large plastic container. He placed it on the table in the middle of the basement and Beth, Noah and Carl exchanged looks as he began to pull out bottles of alcohol.  
“Ok drinks anyone?” as he pulled some plastic cups out.  
Beth didn’t even know how to respond, she looked at Noah again, who shrugged.  
“Um yeah sure” said Noah.  
“Excellent” said Jonathan.  
“I’ll take one” said Holly.  
“Don’t make mine too strong, last time I puked everywhere, my sister was not happy with me that night” said Abigail.  
Jonathan just smirked and began to mix the alcohol with some cans of soda. He handed the first cup to Beth, who hesitated, but then took the offered cup. She took a sip and winced.  
“Too strong?” asked Ava and Beth saw everyone was looking at her.  
“A little” admitted Beth.  
Ava took the cup from her, had a sip and winced as well.  
“God John, that tastes like shit” said Ava.  
Ava grabbed another cup, mixed up another drink and passed the cup to Beth who took another tentative sip. It was still strong, but tasted far better.  
“Better?” Ava asked.  
“Yeah much better” said Beth.  
A drink was offered to Carl, but he turned it down, saying his dad would most likely not approve. He, Ron and Mikey went back to their game and the older teens began to indulge in their drinks.  
Conversation began flowing and soon everyone was swapping stories of how they came to Alexandria. While Noah was finishing up his story, Beth picked up the guitar leaning up against the couch. She placed it on her lap and Jonathan gave her a smile.  
“You play?” he asked.  
“A little” she said.  
She hadn’t played the guitar since music class in high school and she wasn’t that great at it, not as good as she was at the piano.  
“Play something” asked Ava.  
Beth probably would have declined, but the alcohol was already affecting her and she began to strum the only song that she knew how to play. She lost herself in the song as her fingers picked the strings and began to sing. Beth then saw she had the whole group’s captivated attention and blushed with embarrassment, but managed to finish the song.  
“Wow, that was awesome Beth, you have an amazing voice” said Ava and Beth beamed at the praise  
Nobody asked her to play more and Beth put the guitar down. Carl and Ron went back to their game and conversation between the others started up again. Ava got up and made some more drinks for everyone. Beth considered declining hers as it was offered, she was already a little buzzed from the first one but she took the cup anyway.  
Ava and the girls gave her mischievous grins and Beth wondered what they were smiling about.  
“So what’s it like dating Max?” Ava asked her.  
“What do you want to know?” Beth asked with a smile.  
The girl's grins widened as they glanced at each other and looked back at Beth.  
“How did you meet?” asked Ava.  
“He saved my life” Beth answered.  
“Really?” asked Holly.  
“Yeah, I was on a supply run when I got separated from my group and Max saved me from a bunch of walkers" said Beth.  
“Wow" said Ava.  
“Yeah, he was my knight in shining armour” said Beth.  
Beth giggled at her little joke and Ava and the other girls gave her perplexed looks.  
“Max’s last name is Knight” Beth explained and the girls all laughed.  
Beth then saw Holly glance over at Noah and saw an enamoured smile appear on the girl's face.  
“So um is Noah seeing anyone in your group?” Holly asked.  
Beth looked over at Noah, who was talking with Eli and Jonathan and shook her head. Holly’s face lit up and she grinned.  
“He’s really cute” said Holly, sneaking another glance at Noah.  
“Well why are you still talking to us then?” asked Ava  
Holly stuck out her tongue but then got up and sat next to Noah.  
“So do you guys do this all the time?” Beth asked, turning her attention back to Ava and the girls.  
“Get wasted?” asked Ava.  
“Yeah” said Beth.  
“Not all they time but yeah” said Ava.  
“We just have to be sneaky about acquiring our booze” said Chloe.  
Beth smiled at this, some things never changed, even with the dead walking the earth, teens still had to get alcohol any way they could.  
Beth soon lost track of time and it grew late. Beth looked down at the cup in her hand and couldn’t remember how many she had. She definitely was drunk now and found herself enjoying the strange but pleasurable sensation. Everyone else seemed to been having fun as well, Eli and Chloe were making out in a corner of the basement, Jonathan and the boys were loudly playing some racing game and Noah and Holly were deep in conversation. Beth saw Holly’s hand on Noah’s thigh and she grinned at the potential romance that could be blossoming.  
“So Beth, how big is Max?” Abigail then asked Beth and giggled drunkenly.  
“Huh um like six two, six three I think” said Beth.  
The girls laughed and Beth looked at them in confusion.  
“No Beth, how big is he?” said Abigail with more emphasis.  
Beth blushed crimson red as she now realised what she meant.  
“Oh he’s big” said Beth.  
The girls exchanged delighted looks and giggled again.  
“Mmm I bet he is” said Ava  
“What’s he like in bed?” asked Abigail.  
Beth didn’t respond but couldn’t keep the smile off her face and the girls giggled with delight again.  
“What's all the gigging about?” asked Jonathan as he came over to them  
“None of your business perv” said Ava.  
“Ooh harsh sis” said Jonathan.  
Beth laughed at him and he gave her a teasing smile back.  
“Another drink Beth?” he asked  
Beth looked down at her now empty cup and nodded.  
“Yeah sure” she said without hesitation.  
Jonathan gave her another smile and took her empty cup from her. Beth was more than enjoying herself and was enjoying the company of Ava and the others now despite how things started out. She did feel a little guilty she wasn't with Max but she would see him later and kind of liked hanging out with people her age, not knowing how many chances she would get to be a normal teenager like this again…


End file.
